Volunteer in Uganda

Popularly referred to as the pearl of Africa, Uganda is a landlocked country with its capital city in Kampala. The country is located in East Africa, and borders Kenya to the east, Sudan to the north, the democratic republic of conge to the west, Rwanda to the south west and Tanzania to the south. On the southern part of the country, Uganda shares the world’s second largest lake; Lake Victoria, with Kenya and Tanzania.

Though Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, the official languages of the country are English and Baganda, we still have multiple languages spoken in the country, including: The Lusoga and Runyankore-Rukiga languages which are spoken predominantly in the southeastern and southwestern parts of Uganda respectively. Uganda has an estimated population of 31,000,000 people, and the most spoken language servicing the urban areas including the countries capital Kampala.

Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962, maintaining its Commonwealth membership, it now practices a democratic system of government, after implementation of a new constitution in 1967, which abolished the afore practiced system of ceremonial president who was the Buganda Kabaka (King) Edward Muteesa II, and ceremonial vice president, William Wilberforce Nadiope, the Kyabazinga (paramount chief) of Busoga, . The current president of the republic is Yoweri Museveni, who was re elected to serve a fourth term as president in February of 2011. The country is also a member of the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, Organization and the East African Community.

Although generally equatorial, the climate is not uniform as the altitude in different areas modifies the climate. Southern Uganda is wetter with rain generally spread throughout the year. At Entebbe on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, most rain falls from March to June and the November/December period. Further to the north a dry season gradually emerges; at Gulu about 120 km from the Sudanese border, November to February is much drier than the rest of the year. The northeastern Karamoja region has the driest climate and is prone to droughts in some years. Ruwenzori in the southwest on the border with Congo (DRC) receives heavy rain all year round. The south of the country is heavily influenced by Lake Victoria, which contains many islands. It prevents temperatures from varying significantly and increases cloudiness and rainfall in the region.

Christianity makes up the better part of the religious practices in Uganda; the Roman Catholic Church has a larger share, followed by the Anglican Church, with the minority being the Muslim community. When it comes to cultural issues, Uganda has a number of diverse cultural practices due to the large number of cultural communities. for a volunteer one has to be weary of their surroundings in order to know what best cultural practices to adhere to while in the country, and if you are a soccer lover then you are in luck because soccer remains the number one sport In the country, so one can let down their stress form volunteer work by joining the locals In a friendly game of evening soccer, this will help you gain fond memories of your time while volunteering in Uganda.